Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia for an advanced copy of this book.

It’s honestly hard to describe why I enjoyed this book so much. It’s a more in depth look at 1950’s Hollywood and the hardships that Latina actresses had to face in that era. The comparison of Vera’s life to Salome’s was well done and insightful. I myself do not know much about biblical stories but I didn’t let myself look up the story of Salome and instead let the author tell me her version of the story, and how Vera and Salome both are women who face hardships because of their status, their relationships, and their gender. This is my second book by Silvia and so far for me she’s 2/2 .I really love her writing style and her story telling.

3.5/4⭐️

I liked the premise of this book because it seemed so interesting and something different from what I would normally read. I have read Mexican Gothic and I loved it.

This story has multiple point of views which I found cool but I also would get lost sometimes on whose POV it was. The three main POVs being Vera: the actress who is casted as Salome, Salome herself, and Nancy: the actress who wanted to be casted as Salome and is jealous of Vera. There’s also other small POVs here and there, and I felt that it was a little too much at times.

You can tell the author did her research on both Salome’s story and also the old Hollywood time period that the book is set in.

It was a good read, took me a little bit to get through but that’s only because this isn’t a genre I’m used to 😂 but I still enjoyed myself reading it and I’d definitely recommend, I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia!

"The Seventh Veil of Salome" is set in 1950s Hollywood with all of the grit and glamour of that time. There's lots of drama as there is a slow reveal of what occurred around this movie set. Although there are multiple POVs, the main characters are: Vera, who is a new actress discovered in Mexico and cast as Salome in a sword and sandals flick; Nancy, who is an absolute hot mess and will do anything to make it in Hollywood; and Salome, who is the focus of the film. The perspective of Salome honestly slowed the pace of the book for me and I didn’t like the book as much as I hoped I would, but I did enjoy it. I listened to the audiobook and the full cast added to the experience.

The thing I love most about Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books is that we can always expect the unexpected. I love her genre-bending novels, and the way she explores various elements of history through her specific lens. The Seventh Veil of Salome was no exception. Here Moreno-Garcia takes on the Hollywood studio system with the story of a newly discovered starlet, Vera, who is to portray the Biblical temptress, Salome, in a swords and sandals epic of the 1950s. The steady, self-contained Vera contrasts with her hot-blooded onscreen persona, but both women find themselves entangled in a web of envy, revenge, and tragedy that unfolds both in Hollywood and onscreen. Another hit from Moreno-Garcia, and, as always, I await her next book with bated breath!

Luscious and sultry, this envelops you immediately, drawing you in with a cast of characters that are each unique in their own way. Every character adds a layer of texture to the storytelling that bring the story to life. I enjoyed how even the characters set up as ‘villain’ like Nancy still feel so deep and richly crafted to have nuance. You want to both judge and condemn the characters, yet you can feel their wounds, taste their yearning, and feel the excitement and glossy allure of Hollywood and moviemaking.

Expertly balanced and paced, this was a fascinating read that although you think you know how it all plays out, manages to surprise and hook you.

This was so different from any of the other books I've read by this author and I enjoyed! But like many of her previous books, it melds together different genres, although this time she leaves out the supernatural horror. At its heart it is historical fiction, with two different times and three different characters. The story focuses on Salome, the daughter of Herodias with a convoluted family tree. Basically Herod Antipas ("King Herod") divorced his wife to marry Herodias. She was originally the wife of his half-brother Philip. However, because Herodias was also the daughter of another half-brother of Herod and Philip, Aristobulus, Herodias ended up being both the wife and niece of Herod and Philip, as well as the sister-in-law to her second husband (ex-SIL?). Since Salome was the daughter of Herodias and Philip, she was both the daughter and grandniece of Philip and the stepdaughter and grandniece (by marriage) of Herod. And yes, she was also the daughter and grandniece of her own mother. When her mother married Herod Antipas, she came with her. I have read the family connections several times and it still makes my head spin!

In the bible, Salome is actually unnamed, though she is named by the historian Flavius Josephus later. But she is infamously known for asking for the head of John the Baptist on a platter after dancing for her stepfather.

The modern story takes place in 1950s Hollywood and centers around two women, Vera Larios and Nancy Hartley and a film that Max Niemann is directing called The Seventh Veil of Salome. Vera is an unknown Mexican ingenue who has been told her entire life by her mother that her prettier, more talented, lighter-skinned sister (yep) is the one who will be an actress and she (just as pretty and talented, but not according to her mother) is destined to be married and become a housewife and mother. Nancy has always thought she belonged in the movies, but things have never quite worked out that way. When she tries out for the part of Salome, she is all but sure she has nailed the role, except the role ends up going to Vera, an unknown Mexican girl (although she puts it much more unkindly).

The story jumps around between Salome's time and the more modern time, but the perspective jumps around all over the place, not just with the three of them. This takes some getting used to and although the audiobook seems to have different voices for all the different perspectives, I suspect that one would want to read along to the audio. Personally, I enjoyed reading the book, although I tend to love audiobooks, and I did notice they have some of my favorite narrators for this book. I will likely be checking out the audiobook.

I absolutely love how she develops all three characters, even if I really disliked Nancy. But she was such a product of the time period and it was almost chilling how similar Salome's circumstances were with the two women in the 50s. I disliked Nancy because she was a user of people and the way she treated Vera was so unfair, but I also understand why she ended up the way she did. SMG did an amazing job characterizing these women and showing the strength that each of them had to develop just to survive. Without a doubt, Vera was my favorite character, but what happened to each of them were connected and I loved how SMG did that.

If you're looking for her usual gothic horror stories, this is not going to be that. But SMG shows just how versatile she can be as she moves out of her usual lane and writes another engrossing story. If you're looking for good characterization and strong female characters with a dose of danger and suspense, give this book a chance! I definitely recommend it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In The Seventh Veil of Salome, Sylvia Moreno-Garcia returns to the subject of film history, this time taking us to 1950s Hollywood- particularly during the time of the ‘sword and sandal’ films like Ben-Hur and Cleopatra. In this story, we hear about the making of a fictional movie about Salome, a woman in the Bible who is said to have captivated King Herod with her dance to the point that he was willing to grant her anything she wished for. What she asked for– and was dutifully given– was the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

When the unknown but beautiful Mexican actress is given the role of Salome, she becomes the focus of admiration, speculation, and hatred, for nearly every woman in Hollywood was hoping to be cast as Salome. At first, Vera seems to be handling the process very well: she attends the parties she’s told to attend, makes friends, and meets a young man who is very interested in her. She is the talk of the town. But multiple forces are working against her: constant racism and misogyny, an overbearing mother, a jealous fellow actress, and a press as eager to tear down celebrities as it is to build them up.

Interspersed with Vera’s tale is a story of Salome. Perhaps it is historical, perhaps it’s the story of the film Vera is making. But in both cases, Salome’s dance is the pivotal moment upon which both stories turn, and both Vera and Salome’s lives will be changed forever afterward.

Though told with Moreno-Garcia’s usual skill and attention to detail, I found this particular novel to feel a little unfocused thanks to the inclusion of one-off point-of-view characters whose purpose is to give background to the story and provide a sense of foreboding. Personally, though, I thought they were distracting and killed some of the book’s tension, as I was almost told what to expect. Had the narrative stayed with the three main female perspectives, I think it would have helped both the pacing and the tension. As it was, I found the first half to be slow going, but things started to pick up around the halfway mark.

The Seventh Veil of Salome is not my favorite of Moreno-Garcia’s books, but this is partly due to my own tastes. I don’t have a lot of interest in the golden age of Hollywood. I was mostly interested in this because I enjoy Moreno-Garcia’s work in general. This is a generally well-crafted book about a subject that a lot of people are fascinated by. Sadly, I am not among them, but I am looking forward to whatever Moreno-Garcia writes next.

I really struggled with getting into this book. It took me over 2 weeks to read which is very unusual for me.

The story is told with multiple narrators and multiple perspectives. One group of people are in the future and reflecting on a tragedy that happened in the past on the set of "The Seventh Veil of Salome". Those characters are being interviewed and are very clearly talking to someone.

The second group are in the past and it's a more traditional story in the 3rd person POV where we're watching the story unfold. You, as the reader, don't feel like you're a character being talked to - you're just reading the story.

Then, the story also jumps to Salome's perspective and we're reading the story of what's happening with Salome in the fictionalized movie. The author might have done this to avoid having a movie script within the book, which was appreciated. However, it's a bit strange, especially the first time it happens. It was like a book within a book. Anytime we jumped from the Hollywood movie set to the Salome world and then back, it felt disjoint and took me out of the story.

The last 10-15% of the book was good and I enjoyed how the author wrote the climax scene. But the initial 85-90% was a slog, which hasn't been my experience with other books by this author.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

This story is partly set in 1950s Hollywood and inspired by the author’s deep research into the period. Every actress wants to play Salome, the star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary woman whose story has inspired artists since ancient times.
So when the film’s director casts Vera Larios, an unknown Mexican ingénue, in the lead role, she quickly becomes the talk of the town. Vera also becomes an object of envy for Nancy Hartley, a bit player whose career has stalled and who will do anything to win the fame she believes she richly deserves.
Two actresses, determined to make it to the top in Golden Age Hollywood—a city overflowing with gossip, scandal, and intrigue—make for a sizzling combination.
But this is the tale of three women, for it is also the story of the princess Salome herself, consumed with desire for the fiery prophet who foretells the doom of her stepfather, Herod: a woman torn between the decree of duty and the yearning of her heart. And honestly, I loved this part of the story the most.
It is told in multiple points of view, including those of various minor players in Vera’s life. These perspectives affect how we see and understand Vera and Nancy. Alongside our three main characters, Moreno-Garcia injects stories from other characters, some of which we meet through the story, these are told in different formats, some interview style, some like reading a diary and they all add to the intrigue of the story. From the first page we know it is building to some big event, and these little additions add to the tension and the build up to the ending.
The book also addresses the pervasiveness of racism, misogyny, sexual assault and double standards that were once so explicit. It’s a story of ambition, of romance, but it’s also one of three women simply trying to survive, to thrive in worlds that will never accept them as they are.
If you enjoy historical fiction, and don’t mind a slow burn plot, especially with characters this well written, I would highly recommend.

I will always run to pick up anything that Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes. Especially her historical fiction! Everything about this book spelled a recipe for a new favorite SMG title. In reality, it was just okay. I did like how the plot points in Salome's POV echoed what was happening with Vera and how everything came to a big climax. After the climax of the plot, the story ended super abruptly, IMO, with little resolution. And I did not like that so much.

Del Rey eARC
What I love about Silvia Moreno-Garcia's work is that I always get a different book each time I read her, and each time it pays off. This was such a fascinating look into old Hollywood and the life of Salome - whom I knew from the Biblical story but nothing else about her. She made these women so vivid and fascinating. I wanted to spend time with all of them - even Nancy because who doesn't love a fleshed out villain. I ended up doing this one on audio and I'm glad I did because of the full cast production. I had no idea where this story was going the entire time and trusted the author to bring it to a satisfying conclusion and she did. This was masterful storytelling and I'm curious to see where she takes us next.

As always with Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a deeply atmospheric story that slowly builds tension that deliciously pays off. This follows three women, two involved in Golden Age Hollywood, and the other the titular Salome at the start of the first millennium. Three very different women with very different lives, but all wrestling with remarkably similar challenges because of the demands placed on them by the people (mostly men) that surround them. I'd call it a slow burn if I tried to describe the plot, but I was sucked in from the first pages and couldn't put it down.

Whilst reading this book, I kept trying to place it in a genre and even after finishing it, I can’t place it in one. The Seventh Veil of Salome is about a 1950s film and paints a complex story of two actresses, Hollywood, and the biblical princess Salome.
Our first actress is the lead in the film. She is an unknown Mexican woman that is pushed into the spotlight after being cast in this role. Our second actress has been in Hollywood for years looking for her big break and has become a bit more unhinged following the casting of a part that "should have been hers!"
I have to admit, I did not know the story about Salome prior to reading this book, but her story is interwoven throughout the narrative and wow was this book well done. There was one particular moment (without spoiling) that became lost in the story and captivated by the intricate way it was told.
I felt all the emotions while reading this. Excitement for our up and coming actress, anger at the racism she experiences, and anxiety for the impending doom that I could sense in the build up of tension. I absolutely adore Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s work and am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to review this. Thank you NetGalley and Random House.

What a unique, different book for Silvia Moreno-Garcia ! I've read several of her other books (Mexican Gothic and Silver Nitrate), which were gothic horror. Is she veering away from that genre and focusing more on historical fiction? Or is she so multi-talented, she can go back and forth between the two? I imagine it's the latter. This is an impressive read that is a movie set within a story.
We start out with the historical story of Salome, a character in the bible who is known for performing a dance before King Herod, in exchange for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. She's manipulated by her mother, Herodias, into siding with her over her uncle or father, as her mother conspires with them both to arrange a marriage for Salome to increase their share of the kingdom. Unfortunately, Salome is in love with a peasant preacher currently jailed for speaking out against the throne and is being pursued by her cousin for marriage as well. There is a lot of politics going on here with various outcomes. In essence, it's the biblical version of Romeo and Juliet.

We then turn to 1950s Hollywood, where a movie version of 'The seventh veil of Salome' is being produced and stars a young Mexican ingenue, Vera Larios. Vera is beautiful and has never acted before. Her mother favors her sister and she's constantly doubting herself as she navigates her way through the politics and intrigue of the glamourous Hollywood lifestyle.

The 3rd woman in this story is Nancy, an actress who was also up for the part of Salome, but is incensed that she lost out to Vera, an unknown, and a Mexican to boot. There are a lot of racial references to the challenges hispanic and spanish actors faced in Hollywood and if you were from Mexico, you had to pretend you were from Spain just to buy property in CA.
All three stories intertwine a bit as each woman faces similar obstacles-racism, sexism, misogyny, and their drive to succeed. Sometimes the sections on Salome are hard to follow as there are many Roman and Greek characters, but once you get into the meat of the story, only a few really matter. You root for Vera, and are excited for her when she finds true love, fleeting as it may be. Everything comes to a head when the final scene of the movie is filmed and Nancy plots her revenge. You know that tragedy is on the way and when it finally comes it's bittersweet.

Moreno-Garcia makes you feel like you too, are part of the glamour and excess of old school Hollywood, when actors were managed by publicists who controlled all their social activity, and gossip magazines followed the actors from place to place. Not much has changed, but this is a great ode to classic Hollywood, historical fiction, and the great biblical epic movies of the past.

This was my first Silvia Moreno-Garcia novel, and I'm so glad I started with The Seventh Veil of Salome, because now I know what to expect as I work my way through her backlist: excellence.

The story was well-crafted and effective, pulling together Old Hollywood glamor and heartbreak with modern snark and reflection. I found the characters to be dynamic and alive, Vera, Jay, Nancy, and even Vera's family were all interesting people with their own wants, dreams, and plans, and while I never paid much attention to the story of Salome in the Bible, I adored the story Moreno-Garcia crafted for her here. I even bought the love story between Jay and Vera, which is, at times, difficult for me to stick with when love stories are secondary to larger, more multifaceted plots, which made it sting all the more when Jay couldn't overcome his past in time to secure a future with Vera.

Vera goes from being an unknown receptionist at her family business in Mexico to suddenly being cast as the lead in a huge Hollywood film, putting to task all the skills she'd learned throughout her life to aid and assist her more white-presenting, seemingly "better" younger sister who chose love over having the career Vera's mother wanted for her. This results in Vera's mother being overbearing and cruel. Her fast ascend from nobody to star leaves a bitter taste in the mouth of Nancy, who is a mediocre white woman desperately grasping whatever she can reach to keep herself from fading into nothingness. Her hatred and careless evilness make her a fascinating and fun villain, especially when we get to see her knocked down a few pegs, but I was overall unsatisfied with how her story ended, which is what kept this from being a full five-star read for me. But know that if Nancy had the ending I felt she deserved, this would have been a perfect read to me!

4.75 ⭐️s

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Del Rey, and NetGalley for providing an ARC!

I was so torn on the star rating of this book. It’s honestly more than 4 stars for me but didn’t quite meet that 5 star mark. 4.75/5???? I know that’s a weird number. For me the narration by so many different characters made it difficult to connect with or care for any of the main characters (Vera, Jay, Nancy, Salome).
I spent quite a bit of time writing down who all the extra people were and who they connected to just in case it popped back up and I needed to know their name later.
The story itself is told wonderfully by Silvia Morena-Garcia. She diverges from her usual genre and ventures into a more historical fiction in this book. Old Hollywood and the pressures on women and minorities is described wonderfully. I found myself drawn deeply into the story once I had the characters down and stayed up reading way past dawn.
Go into this knowing that you really only need to keep up with the main players. (Vera, Jay, Nancy, Benny, Salome, Herod, Herodias, Agrippa, Jokanaan). Most of the other viewpoints are just to tell you the thinking of the time or something about one of the main characters. I think you’ll enjoy the book much more that way!
I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own .

Haunting! One of Garcia’s best works. The characterization is clear, and the perspective shifts keep the story moving at a good pace.

SMG is fantastic when it comes to historical fiction and making a story stay true to the time period while also feeling so modern at the same time! the multiple POVs really added to the story and lets you feel even more invested in the characters, i'm such a sucker for multiple POVs! this was definitely one of SMG's best so far and i can't wait to see which time period she gets to writing next.

*4.5 stars rounded up*

What if the person you love doesn’t fit in your life plan?

Vera Larios was plucked from her job as receptionist in her father’s dental practice in Mexico & transplanted to L.A., where 1950’s Hollywood is producing a much-anticipated new movie & she is cast in the starring role: Salome. Vera’s story is told in conjunction with Salome’s, & many people give outside perspectives on the events in a documentary style; the woman who desperately wanted the role of Salome, a struggling actress named Nancy, is also featured in this epic, & she is given a bit part in the movie. Readers can feel her frustration & desperation growing, with an intensity that builds right up until the end…

The way the author immerses us in the historical Hollywood setting (complete with racism, homophobia, & anti-communist fervor) while also progressing through Salome’s struggle is expertly crafted. The three women at the heart of this saga wrestled with their ambitions & their hearts, & this could be keenly felt - the writer didn’t shy away from making these women whole & imperfect beings. The emphasis on music was a beautiful addition, & I really liked that there was a playlist at the end of the book. This is the third book I’ve read from this author & I am looking forward to enjoying more in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley & Del Ray for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is one of my favorite authors, and despite how diversely she writes, she never misses. Her latest novel, The Seventh Veil of Salome, is one of her few works that isn’t speculative fiction. Instead, this a historical fiction novel set in 1950s Hollywood, about two women vying for the same leading role in a film about Salome, as well as the story of Salome herself. There is so much tension building between Vera and Nancy in the 1950s, while Salome faces hard choices in terms of love and power.

Tropes & Narrative Devices:
- Mix of third-person and first-person POVs: Three main characters (Vera; Nancy; Salome) are in third-person; other minor characters give brief first-person accounts
- Unlikable character
- Dual timeline

What I Liked:
- There are three main characters here: Vera, the unknown Mexican woman cast as the lead in the film about Salome; Nancy, the bitter actress who still hasn’t had her big break; and Salome herself, grappling with hard decisions in the Roman Empire.
- Vera is a captivating character who is so talented and smart. Sadly, she faces unfair scrutiny from her mother, sexism and racism in her career, and a lack of support for what she really wants to do.
- Nancy is an unlikable character: bitter, entitled, selfish, violent. She’s fun to read, but not someone I’d want to know in real life!
- The love story between Vera and Jay. I like these two together, even if they have a complicated road ahead of them.
- Discussions of music. Vera and Jay love music, from opera to jazz. I enjoyed their deeper analyses of music and their passion for creating music of their own.
- The random first-person people: It feels like they’re being interviewed, decades after the fact, about what went down in 1950s Hollywood—like an oral history. It gives this novel a fresh perspective and a faster pace. Although the main story is all in the third person, and we never get to hear directly from our three protagonists, I enjoyed getting these outsiders’ glimpses into what they thought about everything.

What Didn’t Work for Me:
- The ending was too sudden and fast! It was well done, with rapidly shifting and brief scenes, but I wanted a bit more.

Final Thoughts
The Seventh Veil of Salome is a book that will appeal to fans of historical fiction and Old Hollywood. The main characters are women fighting for more and facing unfair scrutiny, restrictions, and prejudices. It’s an engrossing novel, especially with all the extra perspectives thrown in. The book ends rather suddenly, perhaps allowing the reader to imagine an ending as they will… much like how the secondary characters fill in their own blanks.